WITH the price of laptop computers radically reduced in recent times, more and more business owners are using this technology to improve their productivity and that of their staff.

Laptop computers are now within the reach of business owners who previously regarded them as luxuries their businesses could not afford, says telecommunications analyst Hannes Fourie.

He says business owners and employees that spend a lot of time travelling can now put in extra work in hotel rooms or coffee shops and thus achieve greater efficiency and output which could give the company a competitive advantage.

After the improvement in the foreign currency exchange rate, vendors have dropped their laptop prices from approximately R15 000 a few years back to an average of about R5 000. As a result the demand has increased substantially.

Fourie says it is a better alternative than the conventional desktop computer because you can work and connect to the internet anywhere, whereas the old desktop keeps you office-bound.

John Hersey of Hersey & Associates, a computer hardware reseller, says prices of laptops are on par with those of desktops.

He says a desktop Celeron processor plus a monitor cost about R5 500 and a Pentium desktop computer R7 000. In comparison, a Cele-ron laptop will set you back R5 500 and a Pentium laptop also R7 000.

The laptop’s added features also make it a better buy than the desktop, says Hersey. It comes equipped with built-in local network and wireless network cards, whereas with a desktop you will have to buy these seperately.

Hersey says the lifespan of a Celeron laptop is about three years and a pentium laptop about six years, but it depends on the amount of software changes you make.

“If you keep on changing the software on your laptop by adding the latest internet explorer or operating system or any other application software, your machine will become slower until eventually it becomes unfit for daily work and will have to be discarded.

"If you stick with the original software that it came with your laptop will have a longer working lifespan,” says Hersey.

Hersey says some cheaper imported laptop brands had screens which were liable to break easily. But he says the well-known tested brands such as Acer, run a series of tests like vibration and pressure tests to ensure good quality.

He recommends the Hewlett-Packard (HP) and Acer laptops as the best for business owners.

Hersey says although Acer laptops are cheaper and have more features that differ from one model to the other, the HP has a better support network.

He feels that the HP is more reliable because, in his experience, it has less warranty claims against it than Acer. A warranty claim arises when there is a defect in the product and the company is then obliged to fix it.

It does not cover accidents or stolen laptops. Usually, companies grant a standard one-year local gaurantee, or offer extended guarentees at an extra cost.

Some retailers bundle the laptop’s storage or travel bag with the product at an adjusted price, but mostly the customer has to buy the bag separately. An entry level bag sells for about R260.

Laptop increases business owner's turnover by 50%

Businesses that use laptops, rather than the less mobile desktop computer, can gain an edge over their competitors.

This was the case when Trevor Johnson, owner of business support company Brainwave Projects, increased his turnover by 50% when he turned his back on his old office-bound desktop computer and invested in a laptop computer.

In the past when he visited clients, he would have to return first to his computer at his office to seek out a solution for his client’s business problem, then work out a marketing or business plan for him, before returning later to present his findings to the client.

Now, he can do presentations at the client’s premises and clinch the deal right there and then, saving him a lot of time and money.

He says the laptop, a Pentium 4 laptop which he bought for R6 800, also gave him a more professional appearance and made things more convenient for him. He carries the laptop in a bag that he bought seperately for R370.

Johnson, who has had his laptop for over a year, says he has insured it with Mutual and Federal against theft or loss as part of a household and business insurance policy to which he pays R400 per month.

He says he had to do that because his six-month warranty, which ensures that his machine is seen to by the seller when it is broken or damaged, has already expired.

“But if it should get severely damaged now, I will have to buy a new one because the insurer only pays out in case of loss, not for maintenance,” says Johnson.

Johnson says the only real complaint about the laptop he bought is that the battery power only lasts for two hours.

“Sometimes you are in trouble if your presentation lasts longer than two hours or you neglected to charge the battery.”

He also feels that the machine becomes a bit slow the longer he uses it, while it was fast in the beginning. This might be due to him loading and updating software over time.

Contact Johnson on 072 456 1562.


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